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- "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
- ―The Whill writing the story of galactic history
Long after 0 BBY, a Whill was tasked with writing the Journal of the Whills, in which the individual was expected to record the history of the galaxy.
Biography[]
- "May the Force be with me as I begin the sacred task of writing in the Journal of the Whills…"
- ―The Whill
Long after the Galactic Civil War, this Whill took on the task of writing an account of the events of the history of the galaxy, to be recorded in the Journal of the Whills. Going through extensive research on the subject—hearing every version of the story, viewing every holocron, studying every artifact—the Whill planned to begin the story with the events that occurred in the Imperial Era. A fellow Whill protested and suggested starting from the Republic era, but the writer rejected the protest and insisted the other Whill write their own account in the Journal of the Whills—which the other Whill agreed to, leaving the writer alone while murmuring about having great ideas for an episode of Chewbacca's family celebrating Life Day.[1]
The writer Whill continued summarizing events: from the war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, to the Alliance victory on Scarif by Rebel spies, and finally Princess Leia Organa's secret mission to Tatooine.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "George remarks to Rob Coleman that the story of Star Wars is actually recounted by R2-D2... one hundred years after Return of the Jedi."
- ―J. W. Rinzler on George Lucas' statements about how long R2-D2 retained the Skywalker family stories
The unidentified Whill first appeared in "Whills," a short story written by Tom Angleberger that is included in the anthology From a Certain Point of View.[1] The concept of two Whills arguing over the events of Star Wars while writing the text—which is in fact the opening crawl for Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope—reflects modern Star Wars fandom with references to certain subjects fans love and hate, such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, The Star Wars Holiday Special, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[1]
In Star Wars Legends, the character was identified as the Keeper of the Whills by Star Wars creator George Lucas while talking with Industrial Light & Magic employee Rob Coleman, telling Coleman that R2-D2 tells the story of the Skywalker family to the Keeper one hundred years after Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, as stated in Jonathan W. Rinzler's 2005 book The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith.[2] Matt Martin from the Lucasfilm Story Group, however, stated that Lucas' statement was considered non-canonical because nothing is canon until it's told in official storytelling, and noted that Lucas has contradicted himself many times in the past.[3]
Appearances[]
- "Whills" — From a Certain Point of View (and audiobook) (First appearance)
- "The Whills Strike Back" — From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (and audiobook)
- "Return of the Whills" — From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (and audiobook)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Whills" — From a Certain Point of View
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
- ↑
Matt Martin (@missingwords) on Twitter: "No random statements by any creators are canononical [sic] in and of themselves. George has contradicted himself many times so nothing is 'true' until it's told in officially storytelling." (screenshot)
